With two knee injuries behind him, Badgers tight end Zander Neuville is finally on verge of return

UW tight end Zander Neuville has suffered a torn ACL in each knee over the past two seasons and is eager to get back on the field after being granted a sixth year of eligibility.(Photo: Mike De Sisti / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel)

MADISON – Wisconsin’s Zander Neuville is allowing his imagination to work overtime.

His recently broke the 250-pound mark and is back at the weight he carried at the start of the 2018 college football season.

Recent tests revealed both surgically repaired knees are sound.

His workload in practice is increasing gradually but steadily.

As a result, the sixth-year senior tight end is looking ahead and wondering when he will make his 2019 debut.

“In a perfect world it would be Michigan,” Neuville said this week. “As soon as possible I would say.”

Neuville, who suffered season-ending knee injures in 2017 and ’18 but was granted a sixth year of eligibility earlier this summer, has been ruled out for this week when No. 16 UW (1-0) hosts Central Michigan (1-0) at 2:30 p.m. Saturday.

But with UW off on Sept. 14, Neuville could be ready for the Big Ten opener against visiting Michigan on Sept. 21.

“Depending on how I do during the bye week,” Neuville said, “we’ll probably re-evaluate and go from there.”

Neuville’s playing days appeared over after he suffered a torn ACL in his left knee last Oct. 2, just four days before UW was scheduled to host Nebraska. His 2017 season ended after he tore the ACL in his right knee in the regular-season finale at Minnesota.

Neuville’s teammates and coaches will embrace the return whenever it occurs.

“He solidifies that room,” offensive coordinator Joe Rudolph said, adding Neuville’s return will ease the workload of Jake Ferguson. “Ferg is going to be pumped because he is grinding right now. I think everybody has great confidence in Zander. He brings that with how he approaches things. He brings a physical nature.

“I think he, without saying a word, brings grit, brings toughness, brings consistency. All those things that you preach as a coach, he is a standing example of it.”

Neuville was a devastating blocker in 2017, when he started 11 games. But he also began showing prowess as a receiver and finished with nine catches for 81 yards and two touchdowns.

“Obviously very physical, a point-of-attack guy for our offense,” defensive coordinator Jim Leonhard said when asked about Neuville's play in '17. “That is the No. 1 thing they asked him to do that year.

“Being on the defensive side, he runs better than you think and he is a big, physical guy that loves contact.

“He can definitely stress a defense. He is not a guy that you can say: ‘He’s not running routes. He’s not a threat in the pass game.’

“He is going to add another element to that offense.”

Neuville remains a bit amazed he is closing in on a second chance to play his final college season. He spent much of the spring and summer preparing to apply for medical school. Being granted a sixth year of eligibility was a possibility but he wasn’t planning to get good news. He took the Medical College Admission Test and was ready to move on from football.

That changed when the NCAA gave him the green light to play in ’19.

“Pretty much all of August I was rehabbing and working out with the strength staff,” he said. “It is really exciting. Obviously, last year was tough and not how I wanted to end my career.

“And then I obviously didn’t think I was going to be coming back for a sixth year. So the last month has been kind of a whirlwind.

“But I’ve had a ton of fun this fall just working out and just being back with the guys.”

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